X-ray imaging devices in the field of dental treatment can be classified into a CT scanner, a panoramic imaging device, and a cephalometric device, and appropriate devices are selected and used in accordance with the diagnosis purposes.
Of these devices, the panoramic imaging device is most frequently used for the characteristics of dental treatment. The panoramic imaging device takes tomographic images while rotating along a necessary locus to fit to the shape of a dental arch and these images are connected, so a planar panoramic image is obtained.
For the characteristics of the panoramic imaging device, it is possible to use an X-ray detection sensor with a small area relative to the CT scanner.
In this respect, the CT scanner requires a plane type detection sensor with a large area for its characteristics, but the panoramic imaging device can use a line type detection sensor extending in one direction.
As described above, the panoramic imaging device can use an expensive detection sensor in a small area, so it has the advantage that the manufacturing cost is reduced.
Panoramic imaging devices of the related art, however, use line type detectors in a fixed state. Accordingly, the fields of view (FOV) of the imaging devices are also fixed, so the obtained image information is necessarily limited.
Such a functional limit exists in the X-ray imaging device as well other than the panoramic imaging device.
Therefore, an X-ray imaging device capable of obtaining a wider range of X-ray image information is strongly required.